Tuesday, January 24, 2006

PASS THIS AROUND PLEASE !!!

Read on to see responses from the candidates.

I flew helicopters for an air cavalry squadron in Vietnam in 1971 out near the Cambodian border, while Lt. George W. Bush was hiding in the tall grass down around Houston, to avoid combat. He later refused orders to take a flight physical and basically wasted $1,000,000 worth of flight training. The tactic of challenging the honesty and heroism of any former service member who opposes this administration’s ideas on how to run a war is totally Repugnant, totally Repulsive, and totally Republican. They all giggle and must believe it effective, because none denounce the practice.

I told my son, an SF airman who is scheduled to return to Iraq for a second combat tour in March, not to get a purple heart, because if he ever got crossways with any Republicans, they would probably claim that he didn’t really earn it, or somehow cheated to get it.

P.S. I have changed my plans and will be attending the meeting in Washington, DC.

Questioning the honor of a decorated American veteran like Congressman Murtha shows a lack of respect for the sacrifices made by all those who serve.

It is easy for cowards to attack the honorable service of veterans. All they need is a typewriter and a few leisurely hours. But, happily, the shrill attacks of partisan hacks are nothing to people like Jack Murtha.

It is not easy to toe the line, defending the American freedom for which so many have given what Lincoln called “the last full measure of devotion.”

I condemn anyone or any group that challenges the sacred honor and sacrifice of my fellow veterans, whether they are Republican or Democrat, man or woman. The people of my district know that the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform is sacred.

When they stoop to this level of slander, they only show how desperate they’ve become. They know they’ve made serious mistakes in Iraq but to cover up their own incompetence, they send out their proxies with outrageous lies about Congressman Murtha’s heroic military record.

However, the American people are fed up with gutter politics. They want the Bush Administration to show that they know what they’re doing in Iraq, that they know what’s going on in Iraq and that they have a realistic exit strategy instead of meaningless platitudes such as “We’ll stay until the job is done.”

I will stand beside John Murtha, in front of him, and behind him whenever some Member of Congress, who has never worn the uniform of her country, calls him a coward.

As long as the Radical Right-highjacked Republican Party of Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff insists that the only way to discuss our nation’s involvement in Iraq is to call decorated Marines cowards, they demonstrate clearly that they have lost the legitimacy needed to govern.

A twice-awarded Purple Heart recipient need not prove to anyone — let alone someone who could not tell a Marine Colonel from Colonel Sanders — anything other than the ability to hold Patriotism above Partisanship.

The partisan attacks on John Murtha by the chickenhawks of the radical right aptly demonstrates the hypocrisy of their failed leadership. Hiding behind the “support our troops” slogan, to send our sons and daughters to fight unnecessary wars, they attack real heroes who have served their country honorably and have been willing to sacrifice their own lives in the service of the United States of America. Demeaning John Murtha’s service is an affront to all American soldiers who have served in combat and especially to those who have been wounded and awarded the Purple Heart.

As an Airborne Ranger with two tours of combat service in Vietnam, I am offended beyond words. The actions of these political weasels are not only despicable, they are un-American.

It is unfortunate that the Bush Administration and Republican Party leadership have decided to continue their war AGAINST the troops and veterans with their dishonorable attacks on John Murtha. From Lew Puller in the late ’70s, through John McCain and Al Gore in 2000, Max Cleland in 2002, John Kerry in 2004, and now John Murtha, the Republican Party has attacked the military record of its opponents without regard for their valiant service to their country.

A President who actively avoided serving in Vietnam now sees fit to attack a man who served heroically in several wars. Perhaps the saddest part of this is knowing that somewhere in Iraq right now there is a person serving their country with honor and distinction, and some day that service will be turned against them by the Republican Party if they should choose to be a Democrat. I call on Republican leaders to stop this Republican war on America’s veterans and instead to honor those who choose to serve their country!

“Service is the rent we pay for room on this earth.” — Rep. Shirley Chisholm

John Murtha has served this country proudly in times of war and peace. Following the logic of the late Rep. Shirley Chisholm, John Murtha has paid enough rent for himself and a few more people. This recent attack reflects poorly on the respect we have today for service because it illuminates the amount of energy spent tearing down the character of a person who served rather than honoring courageous effort.

It’s time for an attitude adjustment in this country. We can no longer say we support the troops when they fight for this country on foreign soil but treat them like the enemy when they fight for this country at home.

I agree with Congressman Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania, who believes that we should remove our troops from Iraq as soon as possible. They are exhausted and demoralized. Rather than preventing violence, we have become a cause of the violence. If we withdraw, the insurgency will eventually quell, and the Iraqis will be free to manage and rule their own country. I advocate an immediate withdrawal of our troops from Iraq, not only to prevent further loss of life but to stop the further depletion of our national resources and treasure and to restore America’s honor and prestige throughout the world.

The attacks on the valor and sacrifice of John Murtha are an affront to every man and woman who has ever served this country. Like thousands of other veterans, I take the insults to John Murtha personally, and I am deeply angered.

Attacking the military record of an American soldier, by groups too cowardly to use their own voices in the attack, is a travesty. How anyone could ever deign to speak ill of another American’s sacrifice for their nation is beyond me, particular a soldier with the extensive military and bipartisan political record of John Murtha.

Anyone who does not immediately disavow support for such people and such heinous slurs is guilty of an obvious, despicable and disgusting lack of support for our troops and our veterans.

Partisan and personal attacks by supporters of the war in Iraq against Jack Murtha should be viewed as validating his points. When people attack the messenger it is clear they have no ability to respond to the truth he is telling.

Rep. Murtha is a Marine and these attacks will be but pin-pricks for him. Still, the assault on a man’s combat record in service to policies created by those who avoided combat is the work of pygmies.

Anyone who served in Viet Nam knows that enlisted Marines earned every damn medal they got, and many they never received. If you have not stood up to the test you cannot judge others who have.

When we talk of “cowardice” we ought perhaps to consider the behavior of the Commander-in-Chief. President Bush, who has sent men and women into harm’s way, often underequipped, and asked them to sacrifice for our country has not, since 2003 even had the guts to speak before a hostile audience. I always believed that leaders lead by example.

Here we go again, armchair warriors launching obscene attacks on the heroism of people who have placed themselves in harm’s way. This time it’s the courage of Congressman John Murtha — one tough Marine.

This obscene attack sends a terrible message to all our service men and women, but especially those who are dying and being wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan this very day.

It is time for all Americans to denounce those who sully the Purple Heart and those who have earned it.

These so-called patriots so cavalierly send other people’s children into harm’s way without proper equipment or planning. And then they have the nerve to denigrate their wounds. How dare they demean such courage and sacrifice!

Remember the disgraceful “Swift Boat” attacks on John Kerry’s wartime service? Well, this time it’s Rep. Jack Murtha who is the target of the sleazy attacks.

This is sick and sad.

I don’t completely agree with Jack Murtha’s approach on Iraq, but I understand where his frustration is coming from, and I have nothing but admiriation for his service both as a Marine and as a member of the Armed Services Committee. A man with Jack Murtha’s background deserves better than to be smeared by a group of Beltway apparatchiks who never wore a uniform once they got past Webelos or Brownies.

An all new low has been reached in politics with the attacks against Representative John Murtha. It was bad enough that we had to deal with these false and unscrupulous attacks against John Kerry during the 2004 election cycle, but now these cowards are at it again — cowards that never strapped on a pair of combat boots and stood a guard post somewhere in a hostile environment.

You would think in the days when we are struggling to fill our ranks with new soldiers and have American soldiers dying every day in Iraq and Afghanistan, a little bit more of that “Compassionate Conservatism” would be shown when it comes to the service of our veterans.

These attacks on John Murtha are just one more example of how they cannot create a message of their own, so they try to subvert ours. We need to change the vernacular — rather than to alluding to the “swift boating” of Kerry, we should impress upon Americans a new call to action?lest we forget what Right wing ideologues are capable of, shout from the rafters and the mountain peaks across the land “REMEMBER MURTHA!”

I am one of four brothers who served in Viet Nam at the same time. Three of us were in combat together. As patriots we are incensed at the manner in which this administration backs the denigration of our patriots. They have not earned the right to do so because not one of them ever answered our country’s call. To denigrate one patriot’s service is to denigrate the service of all who have fought for this, the greatest nation on the face of the earth.

All of the great writings used to train our children to love this nation speak of unity and brotherhood. For centuries our devotion to each other as a nation has been our great legacy. To question the honor of someone’s military service is an affront to all who have served to protect and defend this nation. We must not allow the Republican Party to continue to erode the unity and brotherhood of this nation.

The way things are going in congress these days, I am more surprised when members speak with respect and dignity, than the despicable way they are speaking about Jack Murtha. It is both troubling and expected for this congress, with most never having served in the armed forces, to demean the character of Jack Murtha, who answered the phone when his country called.

I agree that the attacks on Representative Murtha are disgusting. How can they tout support for the troops and with the same breath degrade a decorated veteran? It clearly shows that they do not honor our troops at all.

We saw the effects a lie had on Senator John Kerry. If it worked once, they think it will work again. It’s ironic once you think about it. Many of these people who are orchestrating these attacks have never served one day in the military and yet, they suddenly have become experts on military service.

I will stand with Representative Murtha against these people who attempt to swiftboat him just because he disagrees with our President.

Band of Brothers stands in front of, behind, and beside our veterans seeking Congressional office, and will not be silent sheep when one of ours is attacked. We ask that you stand with us and please contribute to our cause.